On 13 February 2023, Toyota announced a new executive officer structure under new president Tsuneji Sato (effective 1 April 2023). During the Q&A session with the media following this announcement, in response to a question about the BEV strategy, the company expressed its intention to make a more detailed announcement after April, when the new structure will be in place. As head of Lexus, Sato has positioned Lexus as the driving force behind Toyota’s BEV strategy and has laid out specific sales plans, but he also mentioned that he intends to offer a full line of xEVs as the best solution in each region as the head of Toyota. Many within Toyota have expressed the idea of positioning PHEVs as an alternative to HEVs as the volume zone for xEVs for the time being, and from 2020 onwards, Toyota/Lexus vehicles will continue to expand the range of PHEVs, particularly SUVs, with the new Prius PHEV being launched in March 2023. However, the impact of the semiconductor shortage, which has had a negative impact on vehicle production along with the Corona disaster in recent years, will become even more serious in 2023. According to domestic dealers, as of March 2023, orders for the new Prius (HEV) for the end of the year have already been suspended as they have reached the maximum limit, and only a few units of the newly launched Prius PHEV will be allocated to one of the four Toyota-affiliated sales channels in a certain prefecture for the year. With the exception of some models such as the Corolla, the majority of Toyota vehicles are still waiting for delivery, which can take from several months to over a year, and some dealers have reported that domestic sales have sensibly fallen to a level close to half. With no current indications that the external environment will improve, it will be interesting to see how Toyota’s new xEV strategy, including BEVs, will play out.

This report analyses the direction of Toyota’s BEV strategy, which is being re-examined under an agile philosophy, and Toyota’s thinking underlying the strategy formulation, as well as the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of the BEV business. Based on the overview and performance of the most recently launched new-generation BEVs, we will also look ahead to new BEVs that are expected to be launched further in the future. Furthermore, the growing significance of BEVs in carbon neutrality and sustainability, which are the most important management issues, will also be analysed.

The global BEV strategy will be investigated and analysed from the product, development, procurement, production and sales perspectives, taking into account Toyota’s overall xEV strategy. We will analyse and evaluate the direction of Toyota’s BEV strategy, which is reviewed every few months, and Toyota’s thinking underlying the strategy review, as well as evaluate and analyse the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of the BEV business. Based on the features and performance of the most recently launched new-generation BEVs, we will also look ahead to the new BEVs that are expected to be launched in the future. The report will also cover the growing significance of BEVs in the areas of carbon neutrality and sustainability, which are top management priorities.